Today marks the fifth and final day of work for the Medical Missions team in Guatemala. However, that does not mean that it is now time to relax. Work continues at Las Obras, as well as at the Nuestros Ahijados clinic in Jocotenango. Twenty patients came to visit Nuestros Ahijados this morning, rounding the week off at a hefty 171 patient visits at the clinic this week.
The clinic itself is part of a combined medical facility and secondary school, nestled into the mountainous terrain of Guatemala. The building is an air-conditioned, impeccably clean oasis surrounded on all sides by what some may consider a shantytown, with closely-packed homes largely constructed from cement and corrugated aluminum. As a neighborhood, Jocotenango is marked by extreme poverty, with many of the homes existing without electricity or running water. Behind the facility this morning a group of teenagers was laughing and shouting, playing soccer on an all-dirt field. Trash was strewn across the ground and the smell of wood smoke filled the air.
Inside the clinic work went on as usual, with a line of hopeful patients waiting outside the guarded door. Most of the people coming through the clinic over the course of the week were residents of Jocotenango, and, in fact, some were even students at Nuestros Ahijados. Patients would arrive early in the morning, go inside to check in at the desk, receive a number and then wait in line for testing.
Once their number was called, patients would go upstairs to go through a process known as “intake,” where they would be interviewed by a translator and certain statistics about themselves would be collected in order to help diagnose them. The figures collected included demographics, chief complaint, past medical history, allergies and vital signs. Once this information had been recorded, the patient would be sent downstairs to the exam rooms and pharmacy area. Here they would meet another translator and a medical student, who would interview the patient and perform tests in order try to put into medical terms what they were going through. When they were ready, they would consult Dr. Gary in order to procure a diagnosis and suggest treatment. Members of the MMF team working in the clinic included several translators, medical students and pharmacists, as well as a Cerner employee, Bill. However, among the extensive group of volunteers, there was only one medical doctor present at Nuestros Ahijados—Dr. Gary, a family practice MD from Kansas City. He was instrumental in the group’s efforts, and was able to see every patient to come through the clinic.
Among the 171 patients seen by the Nuestros Ahijados, the major complaints were largely due to musculoskeletal problems brought on by years of arduous physical labor. The people who came to the clinic seeking help mostly live well below the poverty line, and the hard work that they have done their entire life has taken a toll on their bodies’ overall health. Other common complaints included skin diseases brought on by poor sanitation and respiratory illness caused by heavy smoke from the wood stoves commonly used to cook their food.
Every patient that came through the clinic in the past week was extremely grateful for the care they received at the hands of the MMF volunteers—care that otherwise simply wouldn’t be available to them. Dr. Gary has been the subject of many blessings over the past week; in fact, yesterday a two-year-old girl blessed him in the name of God and kissed him twice on the cheek in gratitude for his help.
This action marks a theme on this trip—one that never fails to cause a sense of perspective among the MMF volunteers who have decided to devote their time and money to the betterment of others. The absolute, pure gratitude that the Guatemalan people give for the service the doctors, nurses, art team, interpreters and technical assistants do here is so oddly juxtaposed against the sense of entitlement often found in the United States, that it makes one stop and think about exactly how lucky one really is to be in reach of such excellent resources. It makes one think about how incredibly fortunate they are to have a roof over their heads, to have clean, safe running water, to have a home with electricity.
The work that we do here can never be enough to change everything, but, small part by small part, we can hope to make a difference in the lives of those in need. It has been a wonderful, beautiful experience to help at Las Obras, Nuestros Ahijados and Casa de Fe, and when we return next year we hope to be able to offer that much more.
Outside the clinic building, teenagers play soccer on a dirt pitch. In the background, their neighborhood is visible.
A Guatemalan woman uses a cement basin to wash her clothes.
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